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Jan Kucklick, far right, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management, leads a Facilitation Basics for Coastal Managers workshop Jan. 25 at Nunez Community College. Looking on are Nunez Coastal Studies and GIS Program Manager and Associate Professor Jacqueline Richard, far left, and Nunez Coastal Studies student Kylie Miller, third from left, along with participants from around the southern United States.
Nunez Community College in Chalmette was honored to host the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management’s Facilitation Basics for Coastal Managers workshop Jan. 25.
The workshop brought participants from around the southern United States to Nunez, which offers its own Coastal Studies and GIS Technology curriculum and degrees. Representatives were also on hand from the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL), the National Wildlife Federation, Louisiana Sea Grant, and multiple private firms.
Jan Kucklick from the NOAA Office for Coastal Management led the training, along with her NOAA colleague Marian Hanisko, to help participants “improve their capacity to address challenges and daily tasks by strengthening their awareness, knowledge and skills” with regard to coastal restoration and preservation.
“Class time is provided to practice using skills to plan and facilitate meetings that accomplish the meeting objectives while minimizing conflict,” Kucklick said. “Learning outcomes of the training include: how to facilitate meetings effectively, how to use appropriate process tools and techniques to reach meeting objectives, and how to identify and manage disruptive behaviors in group processes.”
Nunez Coastal Studies and GIS Program Manager and Associate Professor Jacqueline Richard said the decision to host NOAA’s Coastal Managers training provided a valuable resource for students in Nunez’s Coastal Studies program, while attracting a diverse group of coastal advocates to the Nunez campus.
“We’re part of a grant with New Orleans for the restoration of Bayou Bienvenue (a wetlands triangle in the Lower Ninth Ward). Nunez’s role is hosting community engagement meetings, so I wanted our students to be trained to host future meetings,” said Richard. “The NOAA facilitators shared ways to engage audience members in meaningful conversations without injecting your own beliefs. It’s really important that when our students learn to make maps that they recognize those maps will be consumed by the public. So the need to talk to the public and accurately represent the areas they’re mapping is part of producing well-rounded students.”
Several Nunez Coastal students attended the Coastal Manager training and came away with a better understanding of presenting complex coastal information to the public.
“As someone who participates and facilitates lots of meetings both with my team and the public, I found NOAA’s Facilitation Training to be very helpful,” said Coastal student and Native Plants Program Senior Coordinator for the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana Gardner Goodall of Raleigh, N.C. “Issues surrounding the coast can be personal and people often have conflicting opinions. Learning to navigate and direct these conversations is a crucial skill!”
“The NOAA facilitation training was very applicable to my work in coastal community engagement. I was able to learn skills to make sure everyone feels heard and how to ensure equity and neutrality when facilitating meetings,” said Coastal student Arlo Townsley of Viroque, Wis., who works with the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement & Development. “These are skills I had strived for but never had real training on until now and it made me excited to put them to use.”
Students interested in joining the Coastal Studies and GIS Technology program at Nunez can start by taking Elements of Physical Geography online this March during Mini-Session B, which runs March 19-May 7. The full lineup of Mini-Session B classes can be found at Nunez.edu/schedule.
More information about the Coastal Studies program and all of Nunez’s academic and career-technical programs can be found at Nunez.edu.
About Nunez Community College
Nunez Community College is a student-centered institution that delivers relevant and innovative curriculum integrating the arts, sciences, and humanities leading to academic credentials and workforce opportunities. Nunez serves a vital role in the community by engaging with partners to support student success and personal growth. Nunez Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate degrees, technical diplomas, and certificates. Degree-granting institutions also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Nunez Community College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org). Nunez is located at 3710 Paris Road, Chalmette, LA. For more information, visit www.nunez.edu.
